A pair of brothers have donated their huge cache of hand sanitiser after they were placed under investigation for price-gouging amidst the COVID-19 crisis.
The US men, Matt and Noah Colvin of Hixson, Tennessee, bought 17,700 bottles of hand sanitiser earlier this month and were selling them for as much as US$70 (NZ$116) a pop.
The duo also stockpiled antibacterial wipes and surgical masks, exploiting the increased demand for hygiene products during the global coronavirus outbreak.
Despite the belated donation of their products, the Colvins are still being investigated by the Tennessee State Attorney and may yet face charges of price-gouging.
"Donating the sanitisers does not mean they are off the hook legally. If evidence establishes they engaged in price-gouging we will seek appropriate penalties," a spokesperson for the attorney general told WRCB.
But Matt Colvin says he and his brother have merely been doing "a public service", and admonished Tennessee's price-gouging laws as outdated.
"They're built for Billy Bob's gas station doubling the amount he charges for gas during a hurricane," he told The New York Times.
"Just because it cost me $2 in the store doesn't mean it's not going to cost me $16 to get it to your door."
He also claims the commission charged by Amazon, the online marketplace he and his brother were selling their products on, validated the price mark-up.
Amazon has now pulled all the Colvins' items, as well as thousands of other listings for similar products at heavily inflated prices.
The United States is struggling to contain COVID-19 - it currently has 3487 cases and 68 deaths due to the outbreak. Scientists say there are likely five to 10 undetected cases in the US for every confirmed one.
